5-Ingredient Salads

Using ingredients you likely have on hand already, these entrée salads are easy, quick, and delicious. Not counting the staples of olive oil, salt, and black pepper, you can easily whip up these dishes with just five ingredients. A few of these recipes call for homemade dressings that push the ingredient list over five items, but you can use a bottled dressing with similar flavors instead to save time and effort.

Using ingredients you likely have on hand already, these entrée salads are easy, quick, and delicious. Not counting the staples of olive oil, salt, and black pepper, you can easily whip up these dishes with just five ingredients. A few of these recipes call for homemade dressings that push the ingredient list over five items, but you can use a bottled dressing with similar flavors instead to save time and effort.

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July 30, 2009

1 of 21Photo: Greg Dupree

Tortellini Salad with Zucchini and Peas

This light and summery zucchini salad is studded with green peas and brightened up with a hit of fresh lemon juice. This 20-minute lunch can be prepared in advance and is easily portable; just keep it refrigerated until mealtime. Enjoy it warm, chilled, or at room temperature for a satisfying, fiber-filled main. Zucchini ribbons are easy to make with a Y-shaped vegetable peeler, which will give you the best angle and control.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Unsalted canned black-eyed peas give the salad heft and texture, a great pairing for the light, crispy cakes. Bulk up any leftovers with more arugula, sliced cucumbers, and red bell pepper for a satisfying lunch salad.

Roasted Veggie Stalk Salad

Stalks from broccoli and cauliflower aren't just edible—they're eye-openingly delicious. Peel the tough outer layer from the stems, then shave into salads, or sauté, roast, or steam them just as you would the florets.

Radish and Parmesan Salad

Beet Salad with Bacon and Onion

If you love the sweet, earthy flavor of beets but think you don't have time to cook them on a weeknight, you'll appreciate this fast microwave method. Wrapping peeled beet wedges in parchment paper allows them to steam to tender perfection in less than half the time it would take to roast them.

Beet Salad with White Beans and Orange

Raw beets have a subtle earthiness and a wonderful crunch when thinly sliced. The tart vinaigrette will soften the slices slightly. White beans had filling fiber, so this side can easily become a main dish. Toss with a leafy green, such as arugula, if you want this classic gluten-free side to be feature-worthy salad.

Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

Chef Jonathan Waxman taught Cooking Light Editor Hunter Lewis how to make this fall salad many years ago. Riff with the ingredients to find the flavor balance you prefer. With a zing of fresh citrus to cut through the acidity, this crunchy winter salad is the perfect light addition to your holiday spread.

Buttered Beet and Carrot Sauté

If you love the sweet, earthy flavor of beets but think you don't have time to cook them on a weeknight, you'll appreciate this fast microwave method. Wrapping peeled beet wedges in parchment paper allows them to steam to tender perfection in less than half the time it would take to roast them.

Lemony White Bean-and-Arugula Salad

An quick side salad with cannellini beans lends healthy plant-based protein to your meal, and a simple DIY dressing keeps sodium low by using less salt than bottled versions you'll find in the grocery store.

Chicken and Spring Greens with Açai Dressing

This salad is a model of nutrition. The greens and onion provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, the pecans add healthy fats, and the chicken is a great source of lean protein, all with less than 300 calories per serving. Açai dressing is rich in antioxidants, but so is any bottled berry dressing.

Salmon, Asparagus, and Orzo Salad with Lemon-Dill Vinaigrette

With orzo pasta as a base, this salad makes for a hearty, filling meal that highlights the fresh flavors of asparagus and raw onion. If you use a bottled dressing, add a little dried dill to it, as the flavor is great with salmon.

Chicken Caesar Salad

It doesn't get any more classic (or easier) than this salad. Bottled Caesar dressing is easy to find, but homemade is something everyone should try at least once. It's used here as both dressing and basting sauce for the chicken.

Chicken BLT Salad with Creamy Avocado–Horned Melon Dressing

The salad itself couldn't be much simpler―chicken (use leftovers if you've got 'em), lettuce, tomato, and bacon―but it yields tons of flavor. The unique and exotic dressing is worth the effort, but bottled ranch or blue cheese are fine too.

Roast Beef, Beet, and Arugula Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

A mix of tastes and textures is key to this salad; it has sweet beets, crunchy pine nuts, bitter arugula, meaty roast beef, and creamy-and-tangy goat cheese. There's so much flavor in the salad that a quick toss with plain olive oil can replace the dressing easily.

Spinach Salad with Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Nectarines

Most stone fruits pair well with pork, so if you have peaches, plums, or apricots on hand, use them instead of the nectarines. The sweet-and-sour flavor of balsamic vinaigrette matches the fruit well, while the salty bits of feta provide contrast.

Steak Salad with Creamy Horseradish Dressing

This dish combines the best parts of a steak house dinner―the simple salad with creamy dressing and the steak―into one easy meal. Since the beef will be served relatively unadorned, use the highest quality you can and don't cook it beyond medium.

Leftover chicken, pasta, or any cooked green vegetable can go into this salad, making it a great fridge-clearer. Pungent blue cheese breathes new life into the rest of the ingredients. But even if you start from scratch, it's superfast and supereasy to make.